Revenge is Not Bitter
by DiscoUnicorn
Summary: Ginny is dead. Blaise rummages through memories before going out to redeem her killer.
1. Beginnings

The winter air slaps his dark face relentlessly as he glares down at the ivory casket covered in every type of rose he could manage to find. The dark violet roses were so beautiful and always made the woman inside the prison, strategically called a casket, break into tears whenever he handed them to her. The grass surrounding the open grave is surprisingly green and the dirt the most beautiful brown he's ever seen. He closes his eyes for a moment before looking into blue eyes that remind him of hers so badly he wants to rip them from their sockets. Snow begins to fall in little flurries around the large groups of people standing in the graveyard. His hands slide into the pockets of his expensive black dress pants as her family walks around the casket. They are five in total, the war having taken almost half of them away. Luckily he and his now dead love had managed to save that horrid Veela before the death eaters had made it to her. She was carrying her third child and no one knew of it but she. Red hair. They offer him forced smiles as he gazes at them with a stoic expression; he doesn't need their pity, and he wouldn't offer them his. The only reason he'd bothered with coming back to the funeral at all is because he wants them to know. He wants them to know that he knows who'd killed their beautiful goddess and he is going to pay them back with much needed interest, all of them. He goes rigid when he feels eyes on him after every other person has gone around the casket. His dark, somewhat slanted eyes go as cold as the wind, but he goes forward anyway. Her soft red hair blows around a slightly round face gracefully before settling to cover her beautiful lips. His large hand rests on her stomach for a few seconds, but he quickly leans into the casket and kisses her before anyone can think something of the action. _Oh yes, they will pay._

Five years earlier.

"Your little sister is being sorted this year?" Pansy Parkinson sneered at the dark skinned boy sitting across from her. His empty eyes were filled with anger for a moment, but it disappeared.

"She's just as safe here as she would be anyplace else," he said rather coldly. He watched the little dark girl with her hair in a ponytail run over to the table and sit next to Lavender Brown's younger brother. His sister was a Ravenclaw.

It was their seventh and final year at Hogwarts. It was going to be a miserable year, not just because there was not more than forty people at each house table. No, the year would be miserable because things were expected of everyone in the castle. He pushed around the food on his plate absently mindedly, looking up to catch a pair of blue eyes on his face. She wasn't staring at him, really. It was more like she was staring through him at something only she could see. He tossed a piece of half eaten roll at her; it hit her on the side of the head. She blinked and glared at him with her lips pressed together tightly. He sneered and looked back down at his plate. He understood exactly how she felt. His best friend would not be returning to Hogwarts for his final year as well, but life had to go on. With a dismissive wave to his friends he walked towards the Ravenclaw table where he congratulated his younger sister. After receiving instructions from Professor McGonagall active headmistress and a few other instructors, he and the head girl passed out schedules. House prefects also assisted in the schedule issuing. Ginny glanced at him as she handed Neville Longbottom his schedule. She absentmindedly laughed at something Neville said. The dark boy was somewhat relieved that the other boy had taken Ginny's attention away from him. After reminding the people in Slytherin House almost everything the Headmistress had said before, he bid them goodnight and left. He was glad he'd gotten chosen as head boy because he wanted to be alone before attending classes the following day. He stood in the doorway of a room half the size of his room at home, but warmer than any other he'd been in. Obviously the room was bewitched to change to fit the house colors of the student occupying it that year. The bed was a large mahogany four-poster that could probably hold all the Weasleys.

He laughed at that last thought as he kicked off his shoes and threw his shirt across the glass table near the fireplace. Cool air drifted into the room through the open window beside his bed, but he pulled his undershirt off anyway. It wasn't in his habit to sleep in a mass of clothing. After he'd stripped down to nothing but the skin he was born with, he jumped into the bed with a loud sigh. He heard the Ravenclaw girl go into her own room. What was her name? He rolled his eyes up at the ceiling and exaggerated a yawn. Draco might not be there to enjoy his last year of school, but he was damn well going to be there and enjoy it for himself.

He hated summer. The sun was so hot on his face the following morning he nearly burned before jumping out of the bed. Tonight he knew better than to sleep with the large window's curtains open. He took a long hot shower, brushed his teeth, put on his clothes, and glanced over his schedule. He had advanced astronomy, advanced double defense against the dark arts, and advanced potions. Who in the hell had made his schedule, Hermione Granger? He shoved the paper into his pocket after pulling on his black robes. Classes will have begun if he didn't get a move on it. He grabbed the books from his desk and ran out the room. The halls were deserted as he bounded towards the astronomy tower with an annoyed expression on his face. Everyone pretended not to notice him as they wrote down the teacher's notes from the blackboard. He dropped in a seat beside a blond girl who looked frightened for a moment, but turned her attention back to the teacher ahead. After dipping his quill in his black ink and copying the girl's notes beside him quickly, he looked back to the board to see the teacher mapping out basic star patterns they'd see in the summer sky. The professor said it was good that they review before moving on to something more complex. She was positive none of them had been able to concentrate on their books during the summer vacation, not with the recent occurrences anyway. She assigned them two chapters to read for the remaining of the class, and for homework they had to write a sixteen inch piece on what they knew about Astronomy up to that point.

An elderly wizard who had been an Auror in his younger years headed the defense against the dark arts class. For almost two hours he talked about how they'd raided dozens of warehouses and hideouts of dark wizards to only be enthralled into some of the most dangerous fights he'd ever experience. The dark boy sitting at the back of the class frowned deeply before putting his head on the desk and going to sleep. The girl sitting next to him nudged him when class was dismissed. Professor Bolhand beamed at him as he made his way out of the classroom. He went back to his quarters and threw his books on the desk. Sadly, he hadn't gotten a chance to eat breakfast so he was starving. After shoving his book into his bag, he jogged to the great hall. Pansy motioned to a place beside her, but he shook his head and sat by himself near the end of the table. He began eating the moment the food appeared on the table. His dark eyes kept glancing at the clock, and he ignored the owl that landed beside his plate. Not until he felt eyes watching him did he look up from what he was doing. She was looking at him again, but not really watching him. It was the same as before, but her eyes looked calmer. He snatched the letter from the owl's leg and threw it a piece of fried potato before wiping his hands on a napkin and opening the letter; it was from Draco. His mind went back to the food in front of him after he slipped the parchment into his bag. He threw a potato at the blue-eyed girl gazing through him. "Stop it!" she growled at him. He laughed loudly as he reached for his cup of pumpkin juice. Damn it! Potions class was about to start in six minutes. He grabbed his bag and ran out of the great hall.

"I don't like it when students are late for class," said the teacher coldly. She would have given Snape a run for his money. "Ten points from Gryffindor. As I was saying, my name is Miss Caroline Dylan and I am your new Potions professor. " Ginny sent daggers at the dark eyes staring at her, but she realized with horror that the seat beside his was the only one open. "I know it was hard losing Dumbledore. He was a good friend of mine also my former professor, but we must press on. Now, because of lack of students, this class has merged sixth and seventh years from both Gryffindor and Slytherin."

Ginny frowned at the soft snores coming from the boy beside her. She stomped his foot under the table when the professor told them to take their books out. He cursed silently to himself, but was even more horrified to find that he'd grabbed the wrong book from his desk. _Oh, great. As if the day couldn't get any worse. _His head smacked the wooden desktop, and he groaned rather loudly. The professor glared to the back of the room as she turned to the board and began to write out potion ingredients. She noted to them that the potion was on page two hundred and twelve in the book. They weren't expected to finish the potion for a few weeks, but they were expected to turn in a twelve-inch report on the properties and use of the potion they were making. Ginny groaned mildly and rolled her eyes. A piece of parchment on the floor caught her eye. She read it briefly and felt the color drain from her face. The boy sitting next to her frowned deeply, disturbing the beauty of his dark face. Ginny let out a nervous laugh as she handed the parchment to the boy sitting beside her. His eyes went round. She was sure he would hex her into oblivion when she saw the anger on his face, but he simply pushed the paper into his bag and left the room when the teacher dismissed class. Ginny followed him at a pace she figured he wouldn't notice her behind him. Pansy and one of her Slytherin friends appeared from out of thin air and began hassling her. God, she hated Millicent almost as much as she hated Malfoy. She opened her mouth to reply to Pansy calling her a blood traitor.

"Go to your classes or your houses," drawled a deep voice behind her.

Pansy and Millicent threw her a dirty glance before walking towards the astronomy tower. She turned to find him glaring at her. "I didn't ask for your help."

He smirked. "I didn't offer it to you." They stared at one another for a few minutes. Ginny's breath caught in her throat when he smiled at her. "Didn't you hear me? Go to class or to your house. Dawdling around the castle isn't allowed until next week. Besides, you look like you could use the rest."

The color in Ginny's slightly freckled face drained. "Blaise… I'm sorry."

"I couldn't care less."

Blaise ignored Ginny's attempts to start a conversation with him over the following two weeks as they continued work on their potion in class. She seemed almost determined to make him talk to her. The worst thing she ever spoke of was how she missed Harry and his two friends. Blaise thought he would throw up if she didn't shut up sooner or later. Lucky for him, the teacher had ears like an owl and always kept her eye on the red haired girl. She talked while they were taking notes, she slept while the teacher lectured, but worst of all she stared at him when the teacher had them doing in class essays. He was damn near annoyed with her.

It was a cool day in October when he finally got the nerve to tell her to shut up. She kept going on and on about how her brother Bill was going to be married and she needed some happiness in her life at that moment. She missed Harry terribly. "OH SHUT UP!" She flinched at the coldness in his voice. Students sitting around them glanced their way, but looked back at their potions when Blaise's angry eyes fell on them. She balled her hands into fists and glared daggers back at him. The professor released class.

"I'm only trying to be your friend," she said softly as she nearly jogged to keep up with his long legs.

"I don't need any friends, especially any like you, Weasley." He said her name as if it was a disgusting food.

"I know you think that being alone - -"

"Just because your boyfriend, brother, and his girlfriend ran off and abandoned you doesn't mean we all feel abandoned."

"Your best friend abandoned you!"

Blaise frowned. "I don't need any friends. If Draco wants to prance around wearing hoods and killing mudbloods, that's fine with me. It's his decision." Ginny's mouth fell open, but she did not have time to reply because Blaise walked away.

After dinner he rejected a request of Pansy's to walk with her through the gardens on the grounds. He didn't want to be around her anymore than he needed to be. Instead, he went to the owlery and stared out at nothing in the distance. The night was so black that the stars were glowing like the amethyst diamonds in the earrings his mother loved to wear so much. He laughed when he remembered the first time she'd gotten the earrings on her birthday. His grandfather had said they were family heirlooms for many generations back. He thought about the old man for a moment before closing his eyes and allowing memories to overtake him. His index finger wiped away a tear. His grandfather had been the only man he really looked up to in his life. He believed in fairness and never being afraid of being true to himself. Blaise remembered the first time he'd kissed a girl and told his grandfather about it. The old man had laughed and slapped the boy on the shoulder rather hard, but he told his grandson that kisses were meaningless unless there was love behind them. Blaise never kissed a girl again. Well, he'd managed in some strange way to slip into a few girls' beds without managing to kiss them. He never told his grandfather about that; he was afraid of what the old man would say. He laughed loudly.

"Something funny?" asked a soft voice.

He turned to see warm blue eyes staring at him. She pushed a stray piece of red hair from her face. "Are you stalking me?"

"I come up here when I get lonely," she replied.

"Waiting for a letter from your dear Potter? How sweet." He was silent for a moment. His dark eyes focused on someone walking around in their office with candles lit. "I was laughing because I was thinking about how wonderful it would be to watch the dark lord torture your love."

"You don't care about Voldemort. You don't even care about Malfoy, and I thought he was the most vile creature to ever…"

"I don't bow to anyone. Like I said if Malfoy wants to be a servant then let him." He went silent.

Ginny eased towards him and put a hand on his arm. The look in his eyes was pure hatred. "I'm sorry about your grandfather."

"You didn't know him," he whispered.

"I can still offer my sympathy. I know how it feels to lose someone you love."

Blaise pretended not to hear her as he kept his eyes the constellations above him. Why didn't someone just show up and curse the girl into hell? He stood there silent even after she was gone. There was going to be a test in advanced potions the following day and he hadn't studied yet. Merlin forbid life gets any better for him. His feet made squishy noises on the pavement as he walked to his quarters. Adela Meyer. She sat in the common room they shared leafing through her advanced care for magical creature book. Blaise sat down in a chair a few feet away from her, watching her as she pulled her long black hair over her shoulder and studied the words in the book slowly. Her green eyes fell on him for a moment before she went back to her studying. The room suddenly felt very cold. Blaise waved her goodbye away as he went up the stairs into his bedroom.

He grabbed his potions book from the desk as he fell into the bed. Although his body screamed at him to go to sleep, he read through the book for the next few hours with determination. More than likely, he would fail the test and be put back into regular potions class if it was up to the teacher. His foot slammed into the book, knocking it across the room so that it crashed into his door hard. Adela knocked and asked him if he was okay; he replied with a simple yes. She went into her room without another word directed towards him. He stripped down to nothing again before getting into the bed and falling asleep underneath the warm covers.

She was going to die. Ginny cringed every time she read the essay questions on the board. How the hell was torturing sixth years going to help prepare them for N.E.W.T.S? She glanced at Blaise's flourishing quill out the corner of her eye. She was surely going to fail. There was no way in Merlin's hell she was going to get a full foot of each essay question before the end of class. She had an idea suddenly. Weren't the potions used to help muggles as well? She was sure of it because her father had bragged about how it was so important that magic was merging with the normal world. A sigh of relief escaped her abused red lips; she'd been chewing on them since the woman dropped the surprise test on them at the beginning of the hour.

Blaise let out a loud sigh as he pressed his four parchments together and looked down at the golden pocket watch he kept on him at all time. The teacher glanced up at him for a moment, but he just stared at her blankly. The woman forced a smile before turning her attention back to parchments in front of her. Blaise continued to watch the woman, as if he was seeing her for the first time. Her feet were somewhat small, but her legs were amazingly in shape. Tan colored stocking ran up her legs and underneath a pin striped suit of some sort. A silk pink shirt peeked out from beneath the jacket, but the most amazing thing about her was the lipstick on her lips. Her lips were thin, but the pink lipstick on them matched the shirt perfectly, and it made her face look less angular than it really was. Her reading glass slid down her pointed nose a few millimeters, but remained still. She looked fragile; her hands were small and her frame was thin. The dark hair falling over her shoulders reminded him horribly of his mother for a moment. He frowned, but before he got up he tapped Ginny's parchment with his index finger. Words appeared on the paper, filling it to the bottom. He glared at her as he stood and tossed the papers on the professor's desk before leaving.

Brown leaves had floated onto the castle grounds from the trees of the Forbidden Forest. Blaise sat on a large stone with his legs crossed underneath him and an advanced arithmancy book in front of him. He didn't look up when a shadow blocked the little light the sun offered. His fingers pressed another strawberry flavored piece of toffee into his mouth before flipping to the next page. Red hair blew into his face suddenly, pulling him back to reality. He glanced at the prefect badge on Ginny's robe before looking back down to his book again. She whispered something to him, but he acknowledged it with the wave of his hand. There was no way he would be able to entertain her and study for any other unexpected quizzes for the following day. After all, on the next day he had double advanced charms at eight o'clock, advanced history of magic after lunch, and advanced transfiguration following that. He flipped through the book again until he heard a soft whizzing sound, but pulled his wand out just in time to incinerate whatever it was flying his way. He peered around the yard with his lips pressed tightly together. Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, and Seamus Finnigan pretended to be engaged in an interesting conversation when he looked at them. He called out to them, but they pretended not to hear.

"That was my stuffed quaffle," a soft voice said.

"You should take better care of your things," he said coldly. His dark eyes went back to the book in his lap, but he found it hard to concentrate with her standing over him. The book slammed shut with a loud thud. He turned to her with an angry and annoyed expression on his face. "What do you want?"

"Will you tutor me in history of magic? I know you're busy - -"

"Well, that settles it. If you know I'm busy, I can't tutor. Brilliant reasoning."

"Please." Her blue eyes shined with earnest when she said the word. He nodded without responding. Ginny smiled widely and hugged him tightly before running toward her friends on the other side of the yard.

"Oh. Looks like Blaise has a new girlfriend," spat out Pansy. She stopped smiling when he turned to her with cold eyes. If his stares were daggers, she'd be dead.

He smirked. "No need to be jealous, Pansy. You will never have a chance with me, but know I did want you for some meager ten seconds my first year." He pushed his books into his bag. "You girls have a nice day."


	2. Blaise Zabini Bows to No One

He met Ginny every Monday and Wednesday after dinner to assist her in whatever questions she had. The first time she'd asked him when they would meet, she had sat down at the Slytherin table in the great hall beside him. She didn't say anything until she was done eating. The action put Blaise off somewhat, making him forget that he should have gone straight up to his room to study. It was asked in a whisper, the question, but everyone in the room heard it. People turned to look at them with curiosity and resentment. He wanted her to know that he didn't want the entire school knowing that he was hanging out with a Gryffindor, worse yet that it was a Weasley. It was too late after she'd asked the question. So, he told her to meet him in the library on Monday and Wednesday nights at seven. She smiled widely and gave him a loud thank you before leaving the great hall. Blaise looked down the Slytherin table to see people turning their heads when his gaze fell upon them, but Pansy and her friends smirked at him. He did the only respectable thing any Slytherin male would have done; he sneered at her and made a rude remark about her haircut. She was on the brink of tears when her and her friends left the cafeteria a minute later.

She was dressed in an ugly pale blue sweater that matched her eyes intensely. Her red hair was pulled back into a ponytail that hung down her back. The jeans she wore fit her snugly, but comfortably. A strong gust of wind blew a pile of leaves into the air, making it look like a tornado. Some of the students gasped and smiled, but Ginny was too busy searching the crowd of students to notice anything. A strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her towards the open gates. She looked up into Dean Thomas's shining gray eyes. With a nervous laugh, she allowed him to usher her into the crowd so that they met up with Neville, Seamus, and Colin Creevey. She didn't notice the dark eyes watching her from the back of the crowd. Dean smelled like he'd emptied an entire bottle of spice oil on his skin and clothes. Ginny held her breath until they got far enough out of the gates so that she could run ahead with him chasing after her. She laughed loudly, and glanced back to see if Dean was still behind her, but she caught glimpse of the coldest eyes she'd ever seen. Her feet stopped dead in their tracks, and she turned to him with her eyes dancing. One of the Patil twins, he assumed it was Padma, grabbed Ginny's arm and led her forward. Her blue eyes turned back to him over her shoulder, and she smiled. The corner of his mouth twitched, but he looked down at the ground. He was too above her to be smiling at her in public. _Just because someone isn't as rich as you doesn't make you a better person._ He frowned at the words. When he looked up she was still watching him, but with a confused expression on her face. He did the only thing he felt comfortable doing; he smirked. When she blushed her face was almost as red as her hair. She turned away and began chatting with the girls at her side.

The only reason they were still allowed to go to Hogsmeade was for the students to still feel some sense of normalcy in the time of trouble. Blaise pulled the sleeves of his long sleeved green shirt up to his elbows. He leaned forward against the glass so he could get a better look at the picture frame in the window. It was the size of the mirror in the bathroom in his quarters at school, but there were dancing flowers, ladies, and unicorns on it. He frowned.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Her voice sounded like music.

"If you like that type of thing." He stood straight and continued down the line. Where were her friends? She was most definitely beginning to annoy the hell out of him.

"I was wondering… you're head boy and I'm a prefect and we're going to have a Halloween dance - -"

"No," he said blankly.

"Why not? Don't say because we're from two different houses."

"You annoy me. Aside, I've seen you alone more times in the past two weeks than I can handle. Dean will gladly go with you."

"You have to go with someone," she whispered.

He looked at her, but smiled when his dark eyes saw someone approaching them. "Speak of the flubberworm."

Ginny gasped as she turned to see Dean approaching them. He frowned at her when he was close enough to say something she would understand. Who had she been talking to? Ginny saw that Blaise had disappeared to someplace she said no one. They walked down the sidewalk in silence. Blaise stepped out of Alex Parrott's robe shop with a small smile on his face. Was the smallest Weasley falling for his charm? He pushed his hands into the pocket of his khaki slacks as he wandered further down the street. After a while, he got bored and went for a drink in the nearest restaurant. Millicent called him over the second he walked into the establishment. He waved to a few seventh year Ravenclaws on his way over to their table. Pansy scooted over for him, but he took a seat next to a sixth year with short chestnut brown hair and large honey colored eyes named Amelia Taylor. The girl squeaked softly, and eased her chair away from him a few inches when she saw the glare in Pansy's eyes. Pansy made a wisecrack about the girl sitting at the table across the room from them. She had her back to them, but he knew it was she because of that sweater and that hair.

His eyes stayed glued to the back of her head. "Shut it, Pansy. At least she has moral."

"You should talk. You didn't even go to your grandfather's funeral," she said coldly.

He pressed the tip of his wand into her throat and asked nastily, "What, my dear, does that have to do with anything?" She was silent. "Say something else about my grandfather and I will hex you so bad it will take weeks for them to bloody fix you."

She was staring at him just like every other student in the restaurant was. Except, her eyes were more focused on him and less on Pansy; she was looking at him. He shoved his wand back into his pocket. Pansy whispered an apology, but he ignored her while pretending to be interested in the conversation a pair of elderly witches was having behind him. A group of death eaters had attacked two muggles last night on the streets of London. He got a cold feeling in his hands that slid up his back and into his chest. Amelia pushed a butterbeer towards him and smiled. If he hadn't been so in tune with the conversation behind him, he could have noticed. Four other muggles saw the attack, but thought it was an early Halloween prank. The liquid was sweet and a little bitter as it slid down his throat. He slapped three galleons on the table and left the restaurant. The air that greeted him was cool and scented like pumpkin pie. A girl with waist length curly blonde hair wearing a purple dress waved at him as she ran into a joke shop with his sister.

Eyes were watching him. He slid his hands into his pocket, but didn't turn around to see who the person was. If they wanted him, they would have to come to him. He tensed when he heard footsteps aside from his own. A strong hand pushed him into the alley beside a broom shop. He turned around and came face to face with Draco Malfoy. Well, Draco's face but with green eyes and raven hair. Blaise thought it was a horrible and pointless disguise. Draco pushed him against the cold brick wall hard, and Blaise shoved him back twice as hard. Malfoy's green eyes glared at him fiercely.

"Draco, what the bloody hell?"

"Zabini, it's so good to see you. I wondered if you were still alive. Have you gotten any of my letters?"

"All of them."

"Why didn't you reply? You know the dark lord is looking forward to you joining us soon. I think it would be a most grievous error on your part not to assist the dark lord in his conquest. Ridding the world of mudbloods and - -"

"Oh, please! What happened to you? You were never serious about any of that mudblood bullshit before. You've become your father."

"At least I am respected."

"Amongst killers. I have almost eight more months of school remaining and I want them to be enjoyable. You may have jumped off your rocker, but I haven't."

"I had no choice," Draco whispered angrily.

"You did. YOU didn't kill Dumbledore. You could have simply gone to the American school. I would have gone with you. It would not have killed you to defy your father's wishes."

Draco was silent for a moment. Blaise put his hand on the other boy's thin shoulder. He could tell that the decision his friend had made was taking a toll on him. However, Blaise realized that he had been living miserably since that fated night last term at school, but he shouldn't be that way. He shouldn't let the decisions his friend makes affect him in such a way. With a last sorrowful glance at Draco, Blaise walked away from him. He saw Ginny standing in front of the building alone with her index finger on her chin. She looked like she was in deep debate over whether or not she wanted to purchase the quill with the foxtail in the window. Blaise frowned; she'd probably heard everything they'd said in the alley, but he knew she wouldn't tell anyone. He ignored her soft footsteps behind him as he made his way back towards the castle. She caught up with him, but remained silent as they headed towards the doors near the hospital wing. He turned to her with an emotion in her eyes that she could not decipher. She smelled like warm honey on a cool spring day. The scent reminded him of his grandfather's estate. He stepped back from her, but she stepped forward. They continued doing this until Blaise was backed against the door.

"I'll go to the Halloween dance with you, but only because it's too late to ask anyone else in such short time. Also, you must stop watching me and following me when I have not asked you to do such a thing."

"I do those things to convince you to give me what I want," she said solemnly.

"I can't give you Potter," he said coldly.

"Who said I wanted him?" She asked with a smile on her face.

Blaise rolled his eyes and opened the door without turning away from her. With a small bow he went inside, holding the door open for her. She smiled at him leisurely, but slammed the door quickly. Blaise had glimpsed Pansy and her gang coming towards the castle. Ginny walked ahead a few yards before turning around. Her eyes stared into his as she debated whether or not she should say what was on her mind.

"Do you still miss Malfoy?"

"Do you still miss Potter?"

"We've both gone our separate ways. I was over him since last summer, really."

"Well, I'm going to join the dark lord when we are let out for Christmas break."

"No you won't." She made the statement with confidence. Her eyes were beckoning him to dispute her comment. He stared at her blankly.

"How do you know?" His voice was cold when he asked the question.

"Blaise Zabini bows to no one," she said boldly. They stared at one another in silence until they both smiled. Ginny waved him goodbye before breaking into a run. Blaise shook his head. Maybe the smallest Weasley wasn't so bad after all.


	3. Dancing, Lying, and Flirting

It was absolutely pointless of him to be so nervous about a stupid dance. He adjusted the silver tie hanging in front of the light green shirt he wore. His pants were gray and covered his dragon hide dress shoes perfectly. This was going to go horribly. He'd laughed in Pansy's face last week when she asked him to the dance and he'd told her he already had a date. It was untrue then, but he'd had hopes that the little Weasley would finally speak up about it. Poor Pansy, she had to suffer with Johnson for the entire dance or until she got bored with him. He smiled to himself because he knew Pansy would never walk out on a date.

Her actions all made him wonder if whether her sucking up to and kissing Draco was actually meant for Draco or as a ploy to make him jealous. Either way, she'd failed miserably in her conquests. Draco was off doing Merlin knows what, and he was about as interested in her as he was in divination. Adela stood in his doorway dressed in a knee length dark blue dress with her black hair in a twist with diamonds in it. She wore clear lip-gloss and silver sandals. They should probably get a move on it so that they could be there when the dance started. Blaise nodded, closed the door, and walked in front of her a few pace as they went towards the great hall. Adela kissed her date and three year long boyfriend, Markus Murphy, on the cheek as he took her hand and led her inside. He paced the hall for what seemed like an eternity. When he looked up, what he saw took his breath away.

Ginny was dressed in a mid-thigh, dark green, thin-strapped dress that fit snugly at her hips. The cotton candy pink lip gloss she wore shined as her lips stretched into a smile. His eyes wandered from her mouth down to her soft, beautiful legs to her feet clad in two-inch clear sandals. She held her hand out to him, and he took it without hesitation.

They walked into the great hall just as the headmistress was standing up to welcome them all to the dance and introduce the band. It was a band neither Blaise nor Ginny had heard. The Wizards' Welt. They sat down at the table reserved for the prefects and head boy and head girl and their dates. Dean sat beside Padma Patil glaring madly at Blaise until Ginny began talking to him about how the fat lady had ran away from the portrait again. Blaise stiffened when Ginny leaned against him with her head thrown back as she laughed loudly. He gazed at the freckles on her chest and back and wanted to brush them with his fingers badly. Ginny pulled him out of his seat and onto the dance floor with a few other people from their table following closely.

She smiled at him adoringly as she danced around him with her arms in the air. _How graceful._ He smirked at the comment, but began to dance with her nonetheless. Ginny had a look of utmost shock on her face when the song ended; she didn't know he could dance so well. The band changed to a painstakingly slow song, but Blaise pulled Ginny against him and told her his mother taught him everything he knew. Ginny remained tense against him, but relaxed after she realized he wasn't trying to hurt. Dean threw Blaise dirty looks that caused Blaise to smirk at every person looking his way. They were jealous and intrigued that Ginny was there with him instead of one of her fellow Gryffindors. Ginny rested her head on his chest as the song drew closer to its end. She closed her eyes and continued dancing with him until Blaise whispered her name. Everyone else had stopped dancing because the band was taking a break. She laughed nervously and followed him back to the table where she gulped down an entire glass of pumpkin juice.

"So, I see you two in the library sometimes," said Markus. His eyes were almost as dark as Blaise's but his skin the color of a chestnut.

"We're just there hanging out," Ginny said with a hint of nervousness in her voice. Blaise assumed she didn't want anyone knowing she needed tutoring in her class.

Dean frowned. "But you always take your history of magic book with whenever you leave. I thought you were off to tutor someone all those times you left. You know, Ginny gets top marks in that class. Got an Outstanding in it on her O.W.L.S.," Dean said proudly.

Blaise's face suddenly went blank. Ginny moved in her chair nervously and began playing with a string hanging from the tablecloth. She sipped her water, but kept her eyes on Dean. Too bad she wasn't good with telepathy because Blaise was sure she was screaming at Dean to shut the hell up. She pretended to see someone she knew when Blaise looked at her with a smile on his face.

"That's brilliant, Ginny. How many O.W.L.S. did you get in all?" he said the first part with sarcasm.

"A few," she said with a laugh.

"She got eight in all." Dean said with a matter-of-fact tone.

"Dean, will you shut it!" Ginny yelled. She glared at him. Dean opened his mouth, but shut it quickly when she leaned forward on the table. Blaise glanced down the front of her dress and laughed. She turned to him angrily. "What's so funny?"

"One of your earrings has fallen down the front of your dress. Well, you'll have to excuse me. As much as I enjoy hanging with filth I do believe it's time I went and spent some time with my friends," he said smugly. That ought to send her through the roof, he thought.

Ginny's mouth fell open, but Blaise ignored her insults as he stood from the table and walked away. "You slimy, disgusting, prat!"

He stopped and turned to her. "If I'm so slimy why do you want to talk to me, dear Weasley? If I'm so disgusting why did you lie about needing me to tutor you in history of magic? If I am such a prat why in the bloody hell do you insist on staring at me and following me? Stay with your filthy mudblood friends and leave me alone. I have better things to do than entertain poor people."

Ginny stood up from the table, but Padma grabbed her wrist to hold her back from going after him. She sat down in her seat with a loud sound that would have been a scream if her mouth weren't closed. The band started playing again. When Dean asked her to dance, she all too happily went onto the floor with him. He danced almost as wildly as she did. She didn't acknowledge it, but she felt free with him around her. Dean yanked on her hand and twirled her around fast enough so that she stumbled into him. They laughed loudly, but she pulled away from him when she saw people around them staring. Dean continued dancing with her until the lights in the great hall came on and the place cleared out. Ginny was relieved the following day was Saturday because she would have been a wreck in class. She felt so exhausted.

She ignored Blaise standing near one of the janitor closets with a pale skinned chestnut haired girl on his arm. The girl giggled loudly and kissed him as if they were the only people standing in the hallway. Dean made a sound of disgust as they trooped up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room. They sat around the fire talking about whatever came to mind until it was almost morning out. Ginny put on her pajamas and lay in bed staring at the wall. Why was she jealous of the girl that had been on Blaise's arm? She pondered the question until she fell into a deep slumber almost an hour later.

Blaise blinked, but couldn't get rid of the heaviness of his eyes. He stretched and noticed a pale arm draped across his chest. The first person his mind went to was Ginny, but he remembered almost as quickly that it was Amelia Taylor. He frowned deeply as he eased her arm off his chest and onto the bed. Hopefully she could accept that "they" weren't going any further than his chambers. He laughed, but suppressed it into a smile when she turned to him with large honey colored eyes. She looked so innocent. What did he care? He stood from the bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower. The steaming hot water felt good against his skin. Being in the shower allowed him time to think over exactly what he would say to Amelia.

He analyzed the problem from all angles, even spending an agonizing extra five minutes in front of the mirror. She sat on the bed dressed in her clothes when he walked into the room. There was an odd smile on her face that made him worry. Her eyes watched him hungrily as he dressed on the other side of the room. He pushed his black shirt into his black pants, but turned towards the window to glare at nothing.

"They told me you would be this way," she said loudly.

"Who did?" he turned to her curiously.

"The girls. They said I would enjoy you. I just never thought of a perfect chance before last night. You know? When you got angry with that Weasel girl."

He sneered at her. "I wasn't angry. It takes more than a feisty red head to get to me. I can't offer you anything."

"Oh! I know. You see I just wanted to be in your circle of girls. They're more receptive of people than Draco's circle. Besides, I know you like Weasley."

He slid his wand into his pocket. "Have a nice day, Amanda." He intentionally called her the wrong name.

"Whatever," she muttered as she stormed out the room.

Blaise chuckled and fastened the buckle of his belt into place. There was no way in Merlin's hell he would allow someone like that girl to ruin his perfect weekend. No, he had plans to make a few potions and steal a few ingredients from that horrid Professor Dylan's cupboard. He strutted to the great hall with a gleam in his eyes and a smirk on his face. No one was going to ruin this great day he had planned. He dropped down in his usual place at the end of the table. He put bacon, eggs, biscuits, and strawberry flavored applesauce on his place. They didn't have house elves at home, so, the food always surprised him at how wonderful it was. Something light hit him on the forehead and rolled onto his plate into his applesauce.

When he looked up, everyone was deep in conversation or busily attacking the food on his or her plates. After wiping the parchment with a napkin, he opened it up to find a picture of a heart bursting and his and Ginny's name floating up from the mess. He laughed loudly and folded the parchment so that it could fit in his pocket. What buffoons. A cold draft of air came into the room, making more than half of the people seated turn towards the door.

Hagrid trooped in with a large smile on his face, as if anything on his face could be small. He held some type of bird tightly in his grasp by the neck. Some of the students went back to their food, accustomed to Hagrid's shows, but others were too interested in what it was he was carrying to turn back to their food. Blaise rolled his eyes before eating more of the strawberry applesauce on his plate. He glanced at his pocket watch quickly and was relieved to find Professor Dylan will have left for her weekend visit to Hogsmeade. She visited the village every weekend because Blaise knew she was engaged to one of the proprietors there and it was the only time she could spend with him. He gulped down the remainder of his pumpkin juice and winked at Amelia on his way out. She blushed scarlet red. He laughed evilly to himself; he would use her whenever he felt like it. Someone slammed right into his chest when he turned around.

"Watch where you're going, Weasel," he muttered. He stepped to the side of Ginny and continued on his way. He slipped into the empty potions dungeon and went to up the stairs to Professor Dylan's sleeping quarters. Things were in much better order than they had been when Professor Snape was there. Blaise chuckled at the memories of he and Draco raiding Snape's ingredient closet. He'd overheard Snape blaming good old Potter for it one time. What a joke. He slid a few vials into his pocket after glancing over the lot of it. Something sitting on her bedside table caught his eye. It was one of those orbs that recorded dreams. Something in his mind was itching for him to touch it and see what the lovely woman had been up to. However, he decided it would be safer if he left while he knew there was no one in the hallway.

"What are you doing?" He rolled his eyes at the sound of her voice.

"None of your fucking business. Go play with your friends," he spat out.

She looped her arm through his and pressed a kiss against his lips. He saw Professor Dylan coming towards them with a black bag in her hand. Ginny pulled him forward and giggled as if he'd said something funny. The Professor stopped at her door and looked at them with a mildly disturbed expression. "No kissing in the corridors, Zabini and Weasley."

"Sorry, Professor," Ginny said innocently. She kissed Blaise on the cheek and pulled him around the corner. Her eyes went from amused to angry in a flash of lightning. "Don't say you didn't need my help. There are vials and pieces of parchment hanging out your pockets." She turned on her heels to leave, but he grabbed her by the arm.

"You didn't have to kiss me."

"It took her mind off of why we were standing in front of her door in the first place. Besides, I'm well aware of your relationship with Amelia Taylor."

"Jealous?" He asked playfully.

Ginny's cheeks went red for a few seconds. "Not even if you were the last wizard on the earth."

Blaise smiled and walked up to her until she was pressed against the wall. He pressed his lips against hers, hard. His tongue brushed hers softly; Ginny shivered. He kissed her softly before whispering into her mouth, "Of course you wouldn't." He smirked.

"No kissing in the hall you two or I will give you detention!" shouted Professor Dylan.

"Okay," whispered Ginny. Blaise was sure the woman hadn't heard her. He winked at Ginny and walked away. Nothing could ruin his perfect weekend.


	4. Friends Forever

It wasn't such a great disappointment that his mother had insisted he and Ana stay at the school over Christmas break. Now, he'd be forced to attend that horrid Christmas ball the headmistress had planned since the Halloween dance had gone so well. He'd wanted the weeks away from school to get away from Amanda. Wrong girl. He'd wanted the weeks away from school to get away from Ginny. She'd resorted to flaunting her "relationship" with Dean in his face every chance she got. She talked about him relentlessly in potions. If he had to hear her talk about how nice his kisses were one more time he was going to break something. Not only that, but she did it while touching his hand with her pinky finger. She actually thought he and Amanda were dating. The idea made him laugh so hard he collapsed on his bed. There was a soft knock on his door, but he ignored it. Adela said something he could not understand. He snatched the door open to find his little sister in tears with Adela's hand on her shoulder.

She sat on the bed sniffling saying she was ready to go home and be with her other friends than be at the school with people like "this." Blaise frowned deeply, but didn't interrupt her sob filled account of what had happened. She was on her way to the library when a girl with short brown hair had bumped into her and scattered her books everywhere. Another girl with red hair showed up and helped her pick up her books, but Ana said she'd been in tears so badly she couldn't tell the girl what was wrong. She'd walked her back to the Ravenclaw common room and told her to calm down. Ginny. Blaise turned to the window with his hands in his pockets.

He wondered who the other girl had been. Ana ate a piece of chocolate off his table and said she'd seen him talking to her in the corridor before, the girl with the eyes like Grandmamma. He looked at Ana seriously for a moment. She opened the window and climbed into his bed with a sniffle. He wondered if she realized it was below freezing temperatures outside. She was probably sick. He closed the window and convinced her to get out of the bed so he could take her to see Madame Pomfrey. Ana hugged her bright yellow sweater tighter against her pink shirt she wore underneath.

Ana was given a potion for her running nose and temperature and told to rest on one of the infirmary beds. Blaise sat beside her long after he heard soft snores. He got up to leave, but looked up to find Ginny Weasley staring at him. She glanced at the little girl on the bed, but turned her attention back to the blond boy standing beside her. Madame Pomfrey ushered him to one of the beds in the room before disappearing through the double doors. Obviously she was going to get some medicine for what was ailing the boy. Blaise looked at Ana. A part of him was angry she'd decided to get sick that day, but another part of him was overjoyed. Ginny was there. Speaking of the harpy, she walked over to them with a warm smile on her face.

"I didn't know she was your sister," Ginny said softly. She didn't want to wake the little girl. Blaise nodded. "I saw her in the library earlier. She was very upset."

"She's fine now." He kept his eyes on Ana.

"How long will she be here?" She raised an eyebrow. Blaise glanced at Colin. "Oh, he's here because he cut himself in herbology."

"She'll be leaving when she wakes up."

The girl stirred. She blinked up at Ginny and smiled. "You! Thanks for helping me earlier." She sat up in the bed and smiled at Blaise. "Is she your girlfriend Blaise? She's much prettier than the last- - "

"I have to see Professor McGonagall about the ball Thursday night. You can manage to get back to your house?" He stared at the girl blankly. She nodded. He waved goodbye to Ginny before leaving.

Colin yelled over that he was expected to stay overnight in the infirmary and didn't want Ginny to miss dinner. Ginny invited Ana to dinner with her. The girl jumped out of the bed and followed her to the great hall. She sat down at the Gryffindor table where Ginny introduced her to Dean, Neville, Parvati, Padma, Seamus, Lavender and anyone else within earshot of them. Dean covered his shock that Zabini's little sister was not in Slytherin. After all, Blaise was her brother. Ana enjoyed being at the table with them; they included her in their conversations and no one said anything nasty about her brother. She asked Ginny to walk her to the Ravenclaw portrait hole. Ginny nodded and told her to go ahead and she'd catch up with her in a few seconds. Ana agreed and left the cafeteria walking slowly. Ginny swallowed down her milk, told her friends goodbye, and ran out the great hall quickly. After turning down two halls she found Ana pressed up against the wall with Amelia's wand in her face.

"Stupefy!" she shouted angrily. She stepped over Amelia's rigid body and led Ana towards her common room. The girl thanked her profusely before going inside. Ginny frowned at Amelia lying in the corridor with that's mug expression on her face. She laughed suddenly and ran to her own common room. Seamus told her Professor McGonagall was waiting in her office with the other prefects and heads. Ginny stood at the back of the group with her arms crossed over her chest, sending Blaise angry glares. He raised an eyebrow, but kept his attention on the headmistress. He yawned at the end of the speech and made no attempt to hide it.

He tried to beat everyone out of the room, but a blonde Hufflepuff girl jumped in front of him and ran out first. He did the polite thing after that and waited. Dean started talking to Ginny, but she waved him away. She stood in the hallway with her arm crossed over the chest of her pink sweater. The moment he got close enough to her she called him every foul name she knew and then told him how stupid he was for allowing Amelia to hurt his sister.

"I thought you were evil before, but now I know why you won't join Voldemort. You're probably hoping to start your own rule."

"For your information I had no idea who attacked my sister. Do you think I could be so careless over my own blood? Believe me, Amanda will pay for this," he said coldly.

"Amelia." Ginny frowned.

"Whatever her name is. Where is Ana?"

"I stunned Amelia and took her on to her house. She's a good girl. You don't have to thank me."

"Come to the ball with me tomorrow." It was a command.

"I'm going with Dean," she said nastily.

"Really? He said he hadn't gotten around to asking anyone. Which made me wonder if the things you've been sputtering in potions class are true. Come to the ball with me tomorrow night." He pulled her against him and kissed her. Ginny's breath melted away and the rude reply she had for him turned into thoughts of waking up with the sun shining through the window on hot summer days. "Do it." She nodded.

Blaise sat in the Slytherin common room with his arithmancy book spread across the table before him on top of a long piece of parchment. He hadn't been in the common room since the beginning of the school term, but he felt like he didn't miss the place much with Draco being gone and all. People dressed in their school uniforms and green and silver ties lay sprawled all over the place, mostly near corners where they were whispering and occasionally glancing Blaise's way. The green carpeting was warm against his feet after he kicked off his shoes. A smell like ripe lemons filled the room, killing all the fresh air someone had just allowed in through the open window. Blaise picked up his parchment and began to write down some important spells little known witches had created over the past century. Why the hell did arithmancy seem to remind him of history of magic all of the sudden?

Someone dropped down in the chair adjacent to his, but he kept his mind on the essay in front of him. The net weight of five basic love potions combined with…Blaise stared down at the book in horror. He slammed it shut and threw the parchment, ink, quill, and book into his black bag.

"Amanda, I've been waiting for you," he said mockingly. He looked up into honey colored eyes that went round with fear. "You see, my little sister has brought it to my attention that you have a problem with her. Now, I assure you if she wanted to, she could hex you into tomorrow. She _is _in Ravenclaw after all. On the other hand, I told her I would handle it." He took his wand out of his bag and twirled it in his hands with a malicious smile on his face.

"Pansy told me to do it! She said I'd be kicked out of their groups if… if I didn't. I didn't mean to hurt - -"

"I don't care for your excuses. You or any of your friends go near Ana again and I will be practicing my new hexes on you hags," he spat out at her angrily. She nodded.

He snatched up his bag, waved to her dismissively, and left the common room through the portrait hole. Pansy was asking for him to show her how he really felt about her. If she continued to berate his little sister he would have no choice but to show her not to mess with someone of his blood. A Slytherin fourth year by the name of Joseph Timber bumped into him, stopping him in his tracks. The boy laughed nervously when he saw the glare in Blaise's eyes and tried to get pass him. Blaise smiled at him widely and shouted loud enough that the boy would have detention for the remaining of the week. The boy nodded with a forced smile and ran down the corridor until he got to the portrait hole. With a deep sigh, Blaise continued to his lonely room on the second floor. He lay across the bed staring at the ceiling until he felt a deep rumbling in his stomach. His dark eyes stared at his pocket watch and he found that he was in fact late for the Christmas ball. How long had he been staring at that cursed ceiling? He took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, pulled on his dressing robes and shoes and ran down to the great hall.

Ginny sat at the table with Ana, Dean, a Hufflepuff prefect named Alicia Jennings, and a Ravenclaw named Lucille Lexington. Ginny had the top of her hair pinned up with sparkling hair clips. She wore a powder blue dress that fell to her ankles where he saw matching powder blue ballerina slippers. The gold earrings in her ears shined from the light of the floating candles. When she looked at him standing in the doorway, her pink lips stretched into a smile bigger than the one she'd just given Ana. _Ah, this is what grandfather meant._ His breath caught in his throat, but he coughed softly before making his way over to the nearly empty table. Dean and Lucille went out onto the floor holding hands with silly smiles on their faces.

Ana almost choked on her lemon juice when she saw him standing at the table. "Blaise! We looked for you, but Adela said she didn't know where you were! What happened?"

"I fell asleep," he said with a chuckle.

"Oh, I was worried that something had happened," said Ana.

"She's been going on about how she thinks something bad is going to happen to you before tonight is over with," Ginny said softly.

Blaise stiffened. Usually when Ana had strange feelings about things they actually happened. The air in him disappeared as he glanced around the large decorated room. Blue, red, gold and green ribbons were hanging beautifully from the ceilings. The tables were decorated with white lace tablecloths with candles in the center of them. He saw Pansy standing near one of the vacant tables with Millicent, Amelia and a girl he didn't recognize. Pansy cocked her head to the side with a wicked smile on her thin lips. The girl he didn't know turned to him with a sneer he recognized all too well. _Malfoy._ Or maybe it wasn't. Blaise sat down in the chair beside Ginny and dug into a piece of pumpkin pie. He was too hungry and bored to even be thinking about Draco's incessant madness.

After eating two chicken legs, two pieces of pie, rice pudding, and drinking three glasses of pumpkin juice, he was ready to dance. He basically yanked Ginny from her chair onto the dance floor without uttering a word. She laughed loudly as she stumbled into his arms. He twirled Ginny around and smiled at Pansy as she looked at them with complete horror on her pale face. The girl he didn't know pointed and laughed at something beyond them, but Blaise didn't bother to turn and see what it was. _Couldn't be Malfoy. _Ginny wrapped her arms around his waist as he spawn them around the room again, her hand clasped in his and her head resting against his chest.

He danced with Ana a few rounds after dancing with Ginny, but they sat back down at the table as the hall began to clear out. Ana sat on Ginny's left watching him with a strange expression on her face. They smiled in unison when Colin Creevey appeared before them with his camera in hand. He snapped about five pictures of them before going to the next table. Was there ever a moment when that boy didn't have his camera? Ana kept her smile as Ginny turned to her and started a discussion about her charms classes. Ana grew animated when she came to the subject of transfiguration. She avoided a frown from Blaise as she talked about how important being a metamorphigus was when trying to become an Auror. Ginny nodded and said something too low that Blaise could not understand.

A boy sitting at the Ravenclaw table caught his attention. Blaise had hated the boy ever since his first year when he dropped that cauldron on his foot. The stupid thing had broken three bones in his foot. He frowned and looked at the professors sitting at the table at the north end of the hall. A few were scattered around the room, some dancing here and there. Blaise glanced down at the watch in his pocket, but turned his attention back to his sister when she called his name. She wanted to play the piano in his room. Didn't he have a piano in his quarters when she'd come last time? He nodded.

The candles lighted on their own as they stepped through the doorway. Ginny was amazed at how wonderful and home-like the room was compared to the girls' dorms at the Gryffindor house. Ana ran to the large black piano beside the window with a gleam in her eyes. Ginny sat at the table with her chin resting on the palm of her hand as she watched the girl skip from one of Beethoven's symphony to Mozart's Ave Maria. Blaise took a gold case from underneath his bed and unlocked it. Inside was some of the most expensive candy Ginny had ever seen.

She knew it was expensive because her father had bought her mother some on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary last year. He took the top box of candy out the case and slid it towards her. After eating a piece of the chocolate he locked the case and slid it back under his bed. Ana wandered over to them; no doubt tired of playing the piano. Ginny offered her a piece of candy, but the girl declined. She said she was tired and wanted to go to sleep in her bed. Ginny offered to walk her to the Ravenclaw hall and Blaise agreed to go as well.

Ana hugged Ginny and Blaise goodbye before turning and walking down the corridor. Some of the occupants in the pictures snored softly, grunting whenever Ginny giggled at something Blaise said. He pressed her against the wall and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. When he pulled away from her, they were both smiling. She played with the zipper on the front of the gray jacket he wore. He'd changed into blue jeans, a long sleeved gold shirt, gym shoes, and a gray jacket. Ginny wanted to go outside and play in the snow, but Blaise reminded her that it was almost time for curfew. She ran ahead to the Gryffindor house to get changed. He stood in the corridor in the candlelight smiling.

"What's so funny, Zabini?" asked Amelia. Blaise smirked at her, but she returned the action. "Why are you standing in the dark alone?" Blaise remained silent. Pansy and the girl from the ball appeared beside Amelia suddenly. The girl was dressed in a short lilac skirt and a yellow sweater with her blonde hair in a loose bun on her head. Her olive colored eyes were glued to Blaise. The complacent expression on Blaise's dark face turned into a smug smile. Pansy slapped him, but his smile didn't falter.

"What were you doing at the ball with that trashy blood traitor?" she asked angrily. He still didn't say anything, he was too focused on the blond girl, whose hair was slowly shrinking. "Answer me, you asshole. You used poor Amelia here for fun and left her out to dry."

Amelia revealed her wand from under her jacket. "Yes, you did. Mr. Zabini."

"What's the matter, Blaise? You look as if you've seen a ghost." His voice was dry and empty. There were dark circles under his dull gray eyes and his white blond hair was messy. _Still not Draco._ "I told you the dark lord wanted you. Even if he has to kill your little genius sister to get to you, he will. Luckily poor Weasel came along or stupid Amelia here would have performed a well done Cructius curse on her." He sneered.

Blaise laughed loudly before saying, "Malfoy, you are the lowest scum on the earth. When Harry Potter defeats Voldemort I want to personally be the one to send you to Azkaban."

Malfoy growled and slammed him against the wall hard. An elderly wizard dressed in red robes woke up and said foul words to them before realizing what was going on. He disappeared from the frame. "Never speak the Dark Lord's name with your traitorous mouth!" His right hand wrapped around Blaise's throat and he squeezed hard.

Blaise pulled Malfoy's hand away and shoved him against Pansy, who fell over. Amelia's attention went to the people struggling on the floor. Blaise turned to run.

"Impedimenta!"

"Expelliaramus."

Blaise slammed into the wall, knocking several pictures to the floor. Amelia's wand fell onto the floor where Draco picked it up. Ginny couldn't see. Some of the candles had blown out when the magic was done.

"Avad - -"

The candles popped back on. "Crucio!" Draco doubled back and yelled in pain. He dropped the wand as he fell to his knees trembling. Amelia reached for her wand again, but Pansy already had hers pointed at Ginny. "Expelliaramus! Stupefy!" Pansy's wand flew into the darkness down the corridor and Amelia froze. "Impedimenta!" she screamed. Draco was knocked down the corridor into the darkness. Pansy screamed and followed him.

Blaise blinked. Ginny smiled at him. They were sitting in the hospital wing with Ana at her side asleep. He glanced around the empty room before looking back to her with a curious expression on his face. She filled him in on what had happened. Pansy and Draco had gotten away, but Amelia had been expelled and was going to face a trial. They don't know if she was honestly unaware of that girl being Draco or not, but they were going to give her a truth serum. Blaise nodded. Ginny rested her head on his shoulder. She'd saved his life and probably hurt the only best friend he'd ever had. A part of him was thankful, but a part of him was angry with her. Draco and he had sworn to be best friends forever. Nothing could ever come between the bonds he'd made with the boy, even though it had been made when they were only eight years old. Why did he still worry for someone who'd just tried to kill him? When her blue eyes looked up at him any anger he'd felt towards her before then became happiness. He kissed her deeply before settling back into the bed to go to sleep.


	5. A Thousand Words

Present

He hears the soft pattering of feet in the hallway that sound like the wings of dozens of humming birds. There is gentle laughter worthy of only a house as large as the room he habitats. The sweet smell of honey floats into his nostrils with a breeze of fresh air from the outside. The window is open in the large room to let cool air in because of the fireplace's refusal to stop self-igniting. The world is compressed into that one large square they slept on. His eyelids feel like iron curtains as he struggles to open them with the sun shining so brightly on his face. There are no actual feet pattering in the hallway leading to the empty room he is asleep in. He looks at the café au lait colored boy sleeping near the end of the bed. His curly red hair is cut short and he is dressed in his underwear and an oversized shirt. He moves closer to his father's legs for comfort, but the man stiffens for a moment. It appears he has forgotten where he is or most importantly, who he is. Then, it slams into him like a forbidden curse pushing into the heart of someone you care about. Ginny is dead.

He presses the pillow underneath his head into his face just to smell her again. She would be awake at that moment with their son Arthur at her side while she made some strange breakfast of random things she'd found in the kitchen. A wave of his hand through the air causes the window to close loudly. It is wintertime, but there is no large fireplace in the room he and his son sleep in. They boy whimpers when Blaise sits on the edge of the bed with an index finger against his lower lip. It is a habit he picked up from Ginny over the years. She'd do it whenever she was deep in thought or trying to pretend she didn't know something. He sighs in defeat as he stands and shoves the door open so he can go to the bathroom. The pearl tiles on the hallway floor are freezing against his feet, but he quickly adjusts to the change in texture. He turns the water on in the shower, but pauses as he begins to stand straight. _Too silent._ He almost regrets thinking the words when he hears the boy's soft sob.

Blaise adjusts the red tie around the boy's neck while standing behind him. The boy sits in a rich wooden high chair with a bowl of cold cereal in front of him. He'd just turned two years old three weeks before. They had had an elaborate party, just the three of them. Blaise absentmindedly chewed on a piece of bacon as he scanned through his issue of The Daily Prophet. It had been almost five years since Harry Potter killed Lord Voldemort on that cold spring night. Blaise smiles; it had been the coldest night they'd had that entire year, even compared to the winter nights. McGonagall is on the front page in reference to the many teaching positions open at Hogwarts at that moment. At the bottom of the newspaper, barely noticeable, he sees an article he is looking for.

Amelia Taylor is going to be released from Azkaban after five years for what she did that night at Hogwarts. Blaise and Ginny had always debated over whether or not her punishment was too harsh. Blaise had said no, she deserved longer, but Ginny said he was a man and Amelia probably felt like dirt after what he did. Blaise crumples the paper angrily, drawing the attention of the dark eyed boy playing with the floating fruit flavored figures in his milk. The boy smiles at him, and he is reminded of her again. Too bad her family didn't know she and Blaise had a child together. A mild sickness comes over him suddenly. They would have had two children if Ginny had not been prematurely taken away. He hates to leave his son with people he does not know as he goes out looking for revenge, but it is the only way he can do it. Very few people actually know that the child even exists. _Hermione. _Blaise throws the bowl of cereal into the sink and pulls the boy up into his arms in a hurry. If anyone were willing to help him it would be Hermione. He grabs a handful of white powder as he steps into the unlit fireplace. The boy in his arms giggles when his father mutters their destination and throws the powder down. Green flames consume them, but they appear where they should regardless.

Hermione sits on her red sofa with a bowl of hot cereal in front of her, books strewn across the table, and a copy of the Daily Prophet in her hand. She glances at Blaise standing in her living room. The spoon in her hand falls to the bowl on the table just as the newspaper hits the ground. Her mouth is open in shock, but her eyes are squinting at the boy in his arms as if she is trying to place him someplace. Blaise forces a smile as the boy struggles to get out of his arms and onto the floor where he can destroy some things. Ginny always said he would be just as destructive in life as her brothers Fred and George were. The boy pulls several of the books from the table onto the floor with a smile on his face. He sits down and begins pulling at the pages, but they are charmed as to not be ripped. He throws the book away after realizing his yanking is pointless.

"Who... what do you want?" she stammers. Her brown eyes never leave the boy.

"Take care of him. I have business to tend to. I don't know how long I will be away," he says cautiously.

"He's your child. Why do you always have to be so cold? I'm sure spending time with…" A dark realization dawns upon her as she stares into his eyes. She glances at the boy again. "I thought you were just her friend. I'm so sorry," she whispers.

Blaise smiles at her and says, "You watch him and don't let anyone get to him. He's all I have left of her. I'll be back. I swear it. If I'm not, give him to Molly. Not before you see my name in the papers under the death list though. Do this for her, please." The boy wanders back over to him with a large smile on his face. Blaise hugs him tightly while staring at Hermione, who nods to him solemnly.

"If you get caught?" she whispers.

"That's the plan." He laughs when her eyes go round. "If you were referring to me being caught by Aurors, I doubt Potter and the two Weasleys would be in too big of a rush to catch someone who was avenging Ginny's death. Forget it. You'll understand when it's all done." He kisses the boy's soft red hair before pointing him towards Hermione. The boy's dark eyes fill with tears suddenly as he says _dada._ Hermione picks the boy up into her arms and gives Blaise a sincere smile as he steps back into the fireplace. He notices that her house is pleasantly warm for her not to have any fires lit in the place. After finding the vents in the ceilings, he realizes she has muggle heating and air installed. With one last smile to his son he drops the white powder and whispers the name of his house.

He sits on the couch in the den with papers in his hands a wizard working in one of his companies had sent him a few days before. The words on the white paper jumble together for a moment, but go back to normal. Of course Malfoy was still alive someplace hiding out with Pansy and whoever else had the sick notion that another dark lord would rise soon. Blaise chuckles softly to himself as he reads the last few lines of the report. Malfoy had indeed changed for the better in appearance. He now sports the black hair and green eyes whenever he leaves the house his mother owns.

People believe he is her new butler, but Blaise had pointed out to the man working for him that Narcissa believed in having house elves, not people working for her. Three days later the man sent him an owl with pictures of the new butler. It was Malfoy. Blaise laughs to himself softly as he gazes down at the pictures of his old friend. _We'll meet again soon. _The large grandfather clock in the hall chimes loudly. Blaise's eyes go from the pictures of Malfoy to a picture of him and Ginny when they'd went to that Christmas ball that time. The picture sat inside a small frame with dancing flowers, ladies, and unicorns around its edges. He smiles sadly as he remembers how much trouble he'd gotten into getting the picture frame for her.

Five years in the past

He fumbled with the galleons in his pocket nervously. What could he possibly give her to let her know he was grateful for what she'd done the night before and he cared about her? That picture frame. He pulled on his cloak on and muttered an excuse me to Adela as he ran past her. He went straight to the kitchen where house elves were busily fixing food, sewing, and doing other things he was accustomed to seeing his mother or paid witches to do. He saw the head elf standing near the fires with his hand in one of his pockets and a cup of tea in the other. He wore a dirty shirt with short blue pants underneath. There were about five multicolored ties draped around his neck, but even more horrible were the hideous gray socks he wore. Blaise forced a smile when the elf looked up at him with large green eyes.

"Mister Zabini is here to see Dobby? What brings you here?" The elf smiled happily.

"I need you to give me directions to a secret passage that would get me straight to Hogsmeade. I would be grateful. I would be so grateful in fact that I am willing to bring you back some proper socks," Blaise whispered. A house elf sitting a few feet away sewing a curtain glanced at them.

Dobby's large eyes grew larger, an action Blaise had believed would be physically possible. He nodded. "On the third floor near the Gryffindor Tower is a statue of a hump backed, one- eyed witch. Tap her hump with your wand and whisper the password. Follow the path."

Blaise nodded and stared at the elf expectantly. When he didn't say anything, Blaise sighed and asked, "What's the password?"

"Oh, yes. The password is toothflossing stringmint."

Blaise frowned deeply, but wrote the word down in his mind. He thanked the elf again before running out of the kitchen with a chocolate cupcake in each hand. Two elves had tried to force him to take the trays because they thought he looked starved. He chewed on the cupcake and laughed. He was three inches over six feet and weighed almost one hundred and eighty pounds. He spent many days running and doing exercises to keep in shape. Those stupid elves just wanted to throw some of their food off on someone. He stuffed the other cupcake into his mouth when he heard footsteps coming towards him down the corridor. The Headmistress stared at him strangely as he struggled to gulp down the thick piece of bread. He forced a smile.

"What are you doing down here, Zabini?" she asked casually.

Blaise suddenly realized he was standing in the corridor the elf had directed him to. He laughed and said, "Patrolling, headmistress. I know many of the prefects went home for the holidays. So, I'm trying to - -"

"Miss Weasley is in the great hall eating breakfast. You might want to check there."

Blaise nodded and laughed again. The Headmistress walked off. "Thanks!" He yelled after her.

He waited until he was sure she'd disappeared and continued his trek down the hall. Sure enough, he spied the hump back witch out the corner of his eye. He nearly dived behind it when he heard Dean and Seamus coming down the corridor with pastries in their hands.

"I never thought Ginny would fall for such scum. Zabini you say? What is the world coming to?" asked Seamus.

"Merlin knows. Bloody hell if that goes anyplace other than to the hippogriffs." They laughed as they continued past him. Their chatter disappeared.

Blaise snatched his wand from his pocket and struggled with the impulse to run after them and hex them. He tapped the witch's hump with his wand and whispered, "Uh... toothpaste string." Nothing happened. _Wonderful._ He thought for a moment. He tapped the hump again and whispered, "Stringlemint toothpaste." Nothing. _Bloody hell._ He groaned, but went dead silent when he heard Ginny's voice. She was talking to one of the Patil twins about the exam for advanced history of magic. Blaise laughed silently as he thought back to how he'd "tutored" her.

He gazed at her from behind the witch's head with a smile. He ducked when she turned to stare in that direction. She laughed nervously and went back to her conversation with the girl as they continued on their way. Blaise let out a deep sigh and turned back to the statue. Oh, yes! "Toothflossing stringmint," he muttered as he tapped the witch's hump. The hump opened up and he was sure there was no way in hell he would fit inside. He fit perfectly and ignored the hump closing behind him as he crawled down the passage. He got bored after what seemed like hours and started singing old tunes. Stairs. He ran up them happily, but slowed down after realizing there were over two hundred of them. With a loud groan his head hit the ceiling. A trap door. He climbed out and stared around the empty store with a smirk. Finally, he was there. He apparated outside.

The old man who ran the shop he looked for was just locking the door. Blaise grabbed his wrist and leaned over to catch his breath. "No…wait. I need…gift."

The old man looked at him bewildered. His gray eyes were almost covered by bushy eyebrows. His thin lips smiled underneath a mustache that looked thicker than the hair of his eyebrows. "Make it worth my while."

Blaise frowned. He finally caught his breath and stood up straight. "You have a smaller version of this frame?" he motioned to the large frame in the window. The old man nodded. "I will pay you double your asking price and give you two extra galleons to deliver it to Hogwarts." Thank Merlin he came from a rich family.

"Deal. Come on inside," the old man said happily.

Blaise ended up buying Ana a hand sized realistic unicorn with white and pale pink hair. The horse ran around wildly on whatever surface it was on. The old man led the small horse into a glass that looked like a grassy terrain on the inside. He pushed a cork into the end of the glass, which was as wide and tall as Blaise's potion book. He dumped his gold on the counter and wrote down the names of the people who'd be receiving the gifts. The old man remained in the store attaching the packages to owls. Blaise ran around the corner and apparated back into Honeydukes. He snatched a few strawberry-flavored toffees from the counter and ducked back into the trap door. Chewing the candy and crawling through the passage appeared to be a hard task. It was the hardest toffee he'd ever eaten in his life. He could hardly move his mouth by the time he made it back to the beginning of the passage. He climbed out and came face to face with Ginny Weasley.

"Blaise!" she shouted. He climbed out the hump quickly and glared at her. He pushed her aside and glanced both ways down the corridor. "What are you doing? Where have you been?"

He tried to open his mouth to speak, but it was impossible. He pulled the other piece of toffee from his pocket and stared at it with an angry expression on his face: Honeydukes Hard Bonding Flavored Toffee (bond your friends' mouths shut for hours). He shoved the candy into Ginny's hand. She looked down at the paper and burst into laughter. He glared at her as she doubled over clutching her stomach with her face red from laughter. She continued to laugh even after she came up with the bright idea to take him to Madame Pomfrey. She handed the woman the candy and pointed to Blaise. He stared at Ginny indignantly as Madame Pomfrey ushered him to one of the beds.

"How exactly did you manage to get that candy? I saw them on display the last time we went to Hogsmeade, but the woman working there said they wouldn't be for sale until after Christmas."

Blaise rolled his eyes. Madame Pomfrey draped a silvery cloth over his cloak and poured some purple liquid on his mouth. It ran down on the sides until his lips opened a little and she poured the remaining into his mouth. He frowned. It tasted like outdated grape juice. Ginny wiped his mouth with the silver cloth and handed it back to the woman standing beside her. Blaise tried to move his mouth. His lips opened, but his teeth were still bonded.

"Give it a few minutes. If you hadn't been so busily eating things you didn't need in the first place you wouldn't be here." She took the silver cloth and the bottle and disappeared through the doors.

Ginny sat down on the stool beside the bed with a smile on her face. Blaise laughed suddenly, causing Ginny to blush. She looked down at her feet. He lifted her chin with his index finger and looked into her eyes. She leaned forward to kiss him.

"Don't you dare!" shouted Madame Pomfrey. She glared at both of them. "Open your mouth."

Blaise snapped his teeth together twice before smiling at the woman. He drank the clear liquid she gave him. She checked his mouth with a small flashlight and told him he could go. _Thank Merlin._ Surely, Madame Pomfrey was losing her grip after working there for so long. Blaise made up an excuse to go to his room, but not before giving Ginny a soft peck on the cheek. He lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. It would be nice to take a nap before dinner.

The great hall was filled when he went down dressed in khaki slacks and a short sleeved green polo shirt. He sat at the end of the bench again and filled his plate with potatoes, ham, and dressing. Ana waved at him from across the room. He could tell she'd already gotten his gift. Ginny just gave him a small nod when he looked at her. Hmm. He began eating his food, but then he heard _it. _People glanced up from their plates with frowns on their faces. It was the most horrible sound he'd ever heard coming from any animal. A small brown owl cruised into the great hall with a parcel tied to his ankle. He landed in front of Ginny with a loud thud. The thing was outright exhausted. Blaise rolled his eyes. How could a storeowner use such as useless animal to do business? He was glad he hadn't put Ana's parcel on that owl or it would have never made to the school. He laughed and went back to eating his potatoes. Ginny unhooked the parcel and gave the owl some of her pumpkin juice and some pastry. It flew out of the great hall quicker than it had come. Ginny opened the parcel with a smile as she wondered who could have sent it. Her friends leaned towards her with curious expressions. They gasped when they saw what was inside.

Ginny looked at him with a large smile on her face. It was a picture of him staring at her as she laughed at something. The Blaise in the picture turned his head when she looked at him. She laughed. The picture frame was a rich gold with running white unicorns that had silver and purple hair, ladies dressed in canary colored gowns twirling, and pink and purple and green colored poppies dancing. The girls around her argued over how beautiful the frame was while the boys muttered about her and Zabini being in a picture together. Ginny gazed back down at the boy watching her in the picture. His eyes were filled with wonderment, kindness, and longing. She looked at Blaise across the room and nodded.

He didn't think twice about Headmistress McGonagall calling him from the great hall and into her office. If he had a weak heart, he would have fainted at the sight of the man and woman sitting in the headmistress's office. The owners of Honeydukes smiled at him widely. His lips pressed into a tight line he hoped was convincing enough for them. McGonagall pushed aside some parchment and quills on her desk so she could pretend to be interested in something.

"If I broke anything, I'll pay for it." His voice was monotonous.

The woman smiled. "We just wanted to make sure you were okay. We saw that you got the umm-hardening toffee off the desk, but you didn't get the strawberry rinse to go with it. It tastes quite sugary."

Blaise looked at the woman bewildered. "There's a piece of the candy in my room if you want me to get it."

"How exactly did you manage to leave Hogwarts and get into Honeydukes?" asked McGonagall with a frown.

"One of the elves let me out. That elf really didn't need much convincing. She seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown. Quite drunk on butter - -"

"Fine. Have you anything else to say to Mr. Christiansen and his wife?"

"Err I apologize."

"It's okay. At least you didn't steal anything important. Then, your hands would be gone." The man and woman both laughed as they left the room.

McGonagall glared at him. "You are head boy, Mr. Zabini. You're supposed to set examples for the other students. Now, I won't have you not being head boy, but rest assured you will receive detention for this. Thirty points from Slytherin and detention until classes begin again. Go finish your dinner."

"Thank you," he said mildly. He forced a smile as he left her office.

Ginny was standing some feet away from the entrance to McGonagall's office with the frame pressed against her chest. She chewed on her lip absentmindedly as her eyes searched his face. Her hand was soft when he wrapped his cold one around hers. He kissed her on the cheek softly and squeezed her hand. Ginny wrapped her free arm around his neck and kissed him deeply. Their tongues brushed and she smiled against his lips to stifle a moan.

"No kissing in the corridors. A prefect and head boy nonetheless," said Professor Dylan. The woman glared at Ginny and looked at Blaise with distaste. Of course she was the head of Slytherin house, but still.

Blaise gave the woman a glare that would have caused one of the students to recoil, but her expression softened somewhat. He pulled Ginny down the hall and ignored her barraging him to tell her how he'd gotten the frame. He left her in front of the Gryffindor common room. When he entered his room, he noticed someone small sitting at his desk. The candles flicked on and it was Dobby. Blaise breathed a sigh of relief as the rich wooden trunk flew out from underneath his neatly made bed. The trunk opened as he turned towards the window and stared at McGonagall pacing her office. She was so much like Dumbledore it was eerily disturbing. He pointed to one of the two new packs of dressing socks his mother had sent. The socks floated over to the elf sitting at the table that accepted them happily. The trunk shut and locked itself again before sliding back under the bed.

"Master Zabini is good with magic without his wand? Good when fighting nasty wizards."

"Have a nice Christmas," Blaise said as the creature hopped out of his room.


	6. Knocking on Hell's Door

Present day

Blaise clutches his rolled copy of Witches Weekly and the Daily Prophet. He nods to a pale blond man that walks into the Three Broomsticks. The man sits at the table a few seats over from Blaise, but watches him out the corner of his eye. _Let the games begin then._ Blaise pulls his newspaper open with a snap, pretending to be interested in an article on how Harry Potter had just imprisoned two more of Voldemort's supporters. Blaise chuckles loudly. They'll be ringing people up and locking them away until the day they died. Then their children will be the ones getting all the bad people together and putting them in cells to rot. He thinks about Arthur for a moment. No, he doesn't want his son to be some low paid wizard hunter.

"Excuse me, sir." Blaise looked up leisurely. The waiter holds a small glass that looked like a shot of fire whiskey. "The man at the bar sends his regards." The waiter holds the glass out to Blaise.

Of course Blaise smiles and accepts the gift. He nods towards the man at the bar before gulping down the drink. It always did burn going down quickly. Blaise ignores the man for the remainder of his visit, smiling at him before he leaves. It's all part of the game, he tells himself mentally. The winter air burns the skin on his face, which he reluctantly covers with a thick brown scarf. Ginny had made it for him three years earlier during Christmas holidays. It was bloody wonderful of her to return to his thoughts just when the potion in that drink was kicking in. He glimpses the blond man some yards away pretending to study a pair of boots in a shop's window.

Blaise could simply go to his flat, but he decides it is easier to just let the man take him to Malfoy's place. After all, it'd be saving him a lot of time and energy. He stands in front of a decorated wood shop scanning products. Dizzines. His feet carry him into the ally where he has a sudden sense of déjà vu. Ahh yes, this is where Draco had threatened him those years before. Blaise chuckles softly to himself as he slides along the wall. That had been one of the worst days of his life, to see his friend in such as horrible shape. His friend? He laughs suddenly, the sound echoing through the alley. He hears footsteps approaching, but he knows it's only Draco coming to threaten him again about his sniveling dark lord. What a load of horseshit. A cold hand touches his neck, and darkness follows.

The first thing he notices on his way inside the mansion is that it is deserted. The stupid buffoon with him draped over his shoulder high fives a bald man sitting at a desk down in the dungeons. Blaise had always hated those dungeons. When he was a boy and his parents would bring him over to visit, Draco would insist that they play in the dungeons. He should have guessed then that his best friend would grow up to be a loony prat. The man drops him on the floor carelessly, his head hitting the concrete ground hard. Blaise fights the urge to jump up and punch the taste from the man's mouth, but that would kill his entire purpose of being there. He pretends to be out cold as the man nudges him with his foot, moving him closer towards the wall. He shuts the door and sits next to the baldy man before pointing to some things in a book on the table.

With his dark eyes on the wall, Blaise wonders how long he will be locked in the dungeon before his beloved friend arrived to kill him. He debates how long he should pretend to be knocked. _A few more hours should do. _He glances down at his pocket watch and almost groans in annoyance. Merlin, why did it smell like misery? _You're in a dungeon, you git. _He mentally curses himself before deciding to take a nap.

"Aye fund 'em so 't be meh gettin' the gold. Oi, Master Malfoy?" said burly voice.

"Michelle, don't speak. You have the worst voice life could have given a person. Yes, yes. I suppose you will be getting a Christmas bonus this year. Watch him. I'll be back tomorrow. I have things to attend to."

"But I thought you - -" begins a softer voice.

"Tomorrow! Why do you all have to be so stupid and impudent? Told mother to let me choose the guards, but no…" Malfoy's voice trails off with the sound of his shoes.

Blaise wonders what it was exactly Malfoy has to do. Knowing him, it was probably torture some poor widow out of her last inch of sanity before cursing her or killing, the useless sack of shit. Blaise groans loudly. It's well beyond time he should be waking up. One of the guards approaches his cell. The man is thinner with thick curly black hair and blue eyes a few shades darker than Ginny's. Blaise pretends to stumble as he stands to his feet. The guard laughs. Blaise rests against the wall, breathing heavily.

"Where am I?" he asks in a strained voice.

"You're in heaven. You died from alcohol poisoning. Hate to tell you, but there's no dinner here in heaven. No breakfast. Well, unless the good Master wants you to eat!" Both of the men burst into laughter.

"Charming." Blaise rolls his eyes and sits down on the floor with his legs folded underneath him; he's been through worse.

On the positive side to all things, he decides, he has time to figure out what his next moves would be. No doubt Malfoy will come in the morning, almost noontime with that disgusting smirk on his face. Blaise pulls off his coat and lies on the floor staring at the ceiling. _Brilliant plan. _He thinks about all the times he and Ginny had been attacked by deatheaters before she'd finally been killed. It was well over ten times in all. They had been two of the luckiest people alive until that day. No matter, everything would be set back in motion in a few hours. Blaise glances at his watch again before closing his eyes to go to sleep. Yes, it was just a matter of time before he got what he was looking for.

A screech rang through the air, waking and shocking him. It wasn't a screech; it was a muggle woman dressed in a torn black dress. Bruises cover her face and every other limb visible underneath her excuse for attire. Blaise turns towards the wall before looking at his watch again. It is nearly ten o'clock in the morning. He curses himself softly, glancing down the halls for the guards. One appears in front of him suddenly and punches him in the gut. Blaise groaned for the theatrics; Ginny could hit harder than the bloke. The man chuckles heartily as he sits down at the desk again.

"Where's your friend?" he asks timidly.

"None of your business. If you miss him so much, I'll tell him when he gets back at one. Get away from the bars, you filthy mudblood!"

Blaise frowned. "I'm not a mudblood."

"You're not the only person in here either, Prince Charming," the man says with another chuckle.

"Hilarious," Blaise replies. He walks around the cell for a few minutes before becoming bored with that. "Who's the mudblood in the other cell?"

"Some fool named Finnigan. Wife and kid killed during the struggle. Will you shut up?"

Blaise hears Malfoy's voice, but it's muffled. "No, I think I'd rather have that wand in your pocket."

"Not in this life, pretty man."

"Fine. I'll just take it. Accio wand!" He shouts angrily.

The wand flew from the table into his hand. Blaise opens the gate and pointed the wand at the man. "Sorry to do this. Obliverate!" He slides behind a corner in the wall that leads to another cell, an empty one. He points the wand at the wall behind Seamus; the man turns to the wall and reads: You want to live keep your mouth shut. Seamus smirks at him and steps into the darkness of the cell. _What a nutcase. _Then, he thinks about why he is in the dungeons in the first place. He glances at Seamus as Malfoy's voice grows louder. He knows exactly how the man standing in the dark across from him feels.

"Barns, why are you sitting there looking stupid? Open the gate to Mr. Zabini's cell," Draco spits out. He said something to a person beside him, but Blaise couldn't recognize the voice. The man sitting at the desk does not move. He looks at Draco confused for a moment. "What the hell is wrong with you? Mother and he stupid gut feelings. No wonder father was killed!" Malfoy snatched the keys from the man sitting at the desk.

Blaise stepped into the light with a small smile on his face. Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth open slightly. Blaise made a few motions with the wand, telling Malfoy to move out the way. Pansy Parkinson stared at him wide eyed, her stomach protruding enough for Blaise to know she was pregnant. _Bloody wonderful._ He sneered at Malfoy. "Why, Drake, I do believe you have been busy. You see, no one will ever tell you this, but I'd very much enjoyed it if your entire family died today."

Draco grabbed Pansy by the collar of the green turtleneck she wore. He shoved her forward angrily, causing her to stumble. "Kill her."

"Don't do it."

"Of course he won't. Sorry blundering prat that he is," Malfoy said with a look of disgust.

Blaise stared at Pansy. She had a fear in her eyes he'd seen only when that spell had hit Ginny in the chest. He raised the wand towards her with a sadistic smile on his face. He wouldn't kill her, but it wouldn't hurt to have a little fun. "Crucio!" Malfoy smiled at the sound of the woman screaming and writhing on the floor beside him. Blaise frowned; he was enjoying it too much. Something was wrong.

Pansy trembled for a few moments before struggling to sit up on her elbows. She glared at him. "What the hell are you thinking?! Can't you see I'm--"

Draco's backhand collided with her cheek, leaving a bright red mark. "Blaise, how are things at home?"

"You touch that wand and I will kill you without blinking," Blaise said coldly. Blaise pointed the wand in his hand at Malfoy, but he pulled a pregnant Pansy in front of him. His wand was pointed at her neck.

"You know, Blaise, considering that you loved Ginny so much it's very disappointing that you fell for such a childish trick."

"I'm not the one using my pregnant wife as a shield, am I Malfoy? Besides, there's nothing your deteriorating brain could trick me into doing."

"I got you to come here. No more hiding. Don't you see, Blaise?" Malfoy smirked at him. "You were always my mark. After that day in the alley, the dark lord wanted me to kill you. I never got that chance because of…"

"Because of me," Pansy choked out.

"Yes, always there dutifully by his side with those shiny blue eyes. I've always wanted to tear them out and burn them on my table."

He's really lost it, Blaise thought gingerly. He'd never seen his friend in such a fit. He held his wand up higher and said casually. "I don't want to hear your excuses and lame life story Drake. You're dead to me. So sweet you're holding Pansy in front of you. I can kill both of you with one spell."

"Blaise, don't!" Pansy shouted.

"Pansy, shut the hell up. I've never wanted you. I never will. You chose your allegiance that night in the hallway." Blaise glanced at the cells behind him. Soft clicks echoed in the air.

"Seamus?!" Pansy's eyes grew wide. She saw the muggle woman standing against the wall in her cell. Penelope Clearwater offered her a weak smile. "Penny? We thought you were - -"

Draco clamped a hand down on the woman's mouth. Penelope frowned deeply, staring Pansy in the eyes. Blaise was growing more annoyed with each passing second. Seamus stood holding the muggle woman up against him. He also frowned at Pansy, who was doing a damn good job pretending to be their friend. Then they heard them. It was the footsteps of half a dozen men. Blaise pointed his wand at Malfoy again.

"Don't do it," Penelope voice cracked at the beginning of the sentence.

"Why?" He asked angrily.

"I don't know."

"Crucio!" He screamed. The spell hit Draco in the center of the forehead. Blaise grabs Penelope's hand and motions for Seamus to follow. They run from the dungeon and into an abandoned room. His brain takes too many seconds to register the room. Ahh, Madame Malfoy's private study, he thinks while picking up a large cherry wood chair. With a small grunt, he throws the chair out the window, smashing it. Seamus and the muggle woman climb out first. Penelope turns to him with ebony eyes that shine like a clear winter sky. Her voice is steady when she says, "Go back for Pansy." Penelope takes the wand and jumps out the window.

Cold wind blew into the room through the window, chilling him to his bones. Fine, he didn't feel like being the cause of any woman's unborn child's death. He searched around the room for a woman and came up with one thing: a letter opener. _Bloody brilliant._ He sighs heavily before inching the door open. Draco stumbles from the dungeon with Pansy behind him. He has a tight grip on her arm as he yanks her forward. He grumbles about her being a distracting and talking when she shouldn't. Hadn't he taught her anything over the past few days? Pansy had a glare in her eyes that sickeningly reminds him of Ginny. He follows them slowly, aware that all the guards were probably outside searching for Seamus, the muggle, and Penelope.

Draco literally drags her into his green cashmere carpeted bedroom. Blaise frowns at the hideous picture of Draco, his mother and his father; their entire family was destined to for disaster. Draco threw his wand on the table and sat on the bed massaging his temples. He shouted something to Pansy that Blaise ignored as he eased the door open wider. Draco was staring out the window when he eased into the room. He turned to the door just in time to see his best friend cross his doorway.

"Zabini, will you give it up? As a matter of fact, just go."

"I came back for Pansy," he glanced at the woman that had her back to him. Draco strolled forward. "No, Drake, no wand. As a matter of fact," the wand flew from the table to his hand and he tossed it leisurely out the room. "I'm just here because Penelope told me to come back."

"Well, if that's the only reason you came back, you can go," she grumbled. She turned to him, her eyes a crystal blue.

He frowned. Draco spoke up first. "Brilliant, wasn't it? So many curses flying in the dark, you never know who got hit exactly until it was too late." His voice was grim. Blaise rolled his eyes, basically telling Draco he could shove his mock sympathy up his ass. Draco laughed sadly before saying, "I killed Pansy."

Blaise sighed. "I've decided I'll leave you alive just so you can get some help. Then, I'll come back and kill you when you're in your right mind. You coming, Pansy?"

"I am not Pansy!" She screams at him angrily. He sees her glaring blue eyes, and his heart stops.

"Pansy's spell knocked old Ginny here out. I created this plan so fast it still amazes me. I forced Pansy to drink the potion before she died. I had originally planned to kill you and Ginny so Pansy and I could take over your lives. A few strands of hair and you can be someone new for the remainder of your life. Anyway, I ripped a new strand of hair from Ginny's head, as she lay there unconscious. Pansy drank it. Thus, you have the beautiful Ginny dead. I drug Pansy's body to where Ginny's had been and I left with her in my arms. Obviously, you came too, I truly thought you'd been killed, and made the assumption I thought everyone else would." Draco sighed. He looked bored. "She was given polyjuice potion."

"Ginny? Why didn't you - -"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Because she was mine to hoard over your pretty little head. I reveled in the fact that I had your precious Ginny."

Blaise glared at Draco. He charged the pale man suddenly, losing all control. He grabbed the front of Draco's coat and shoved him back, his grip tightening. "Her family! They think she is dead. Her friends. Ours son…" Blaise slammed Malfoy against the wall. One of the pictures fell to the ground shattering. "Me! Why did you do this?"

"Hatred. Jealousy. Choose a word. I'm sure it will fit my feelings towards you."

"Love?" Ginny said softly. She was standing beside the bed with a finger pressed against her lip. She still had Pansy's face, but her bright blue eyes and vibrant red hair were there.

Blaise's grip on Malfoy loosened. He pushed him into the wall and went to Ginny, who hugged him tightly against her. His thoughts and worries melted away and all he could feel was peace. Ginny buried her face in his shirt, enjoying the smell of him that she'd missed over the days she'd been locked up.

"The word is hate, Ginny. Always." Malfoy spat out. His wand was pointed at them. "Tell him goodbye, Ginny. I finish my tasks, Zabini. Tell the dark lord that when you see him in hell." Blaise clutched Ginny against him and turned towards the wall just as Malfoy shouted. "Avada Kedavra"

"Stupefy!"

Blaise looked up to see his former best friend fall to the ground. Where had the spell gone? Ginny leaned against him weightless. It wasn't possible the spell could hit her with him shielding her. He pulled her against him, delaying the inevitable.

Hermione pushed her wand into the inside pocket of her coat. She saw Blaise holding a red haired Pansy who slowly turned into Ginny. "Ginny? Oh, Merlin. What is her body doing here?"

Blaise lifted her and carried her to the bed. Her skin looked so pale. "She was alive. Draco…" Blaise pressed his face into Ginny's breasts and cried.

Hermione put invisible bindings on Draco's wrists and ankles. She picked up his wand. "Harry and Fred are downstairs. I can take you out the back way with her if you'd like. No one has to know." Her voice broke during the last sentence. She bit on her lower lip. "I'm so, sorry, Blaise."

"Mione?" Ginny groaned. Blaise stared at her with an incredulous expression. "Blaise, what's wrong? Where's Malfoy? You fell heavy. My head is killing."

"Ginny, you're all right! Thank, Merlin. I thought you were dead again." He says happily. Ginny laughs. Blaise hugged her tightly after kissing her. "Don't ever do that again."

"Blaise, I'm a pregnant woman. We tend to faint," she said with a giggle. Hermione hugged her tightly.

After days and days of explaining what had happened to her, Ginny felt completely exhausted as she lay on the couch next to Blaise. Their son was asleep in his bed down the hall. She rather liked the quietness. Blaise's hand rested on her round stomach, and he kissed her on the neck. She got up to go to the bedroom, but Blaise pulled her back down to the couch against him. "Could we just lie here? I know we can't stay here forever, but I'm trying to start believing you're actually alive."

"I love you too."

Blaise kissed the tip of her nose. "Until the end."


End file.
